In 4 months time we will be on day 1 of living in canada( in 2 months time I will be a civilian for the first time since I was 18!), started to de-clutter today which bought the move more into focus and when I booked hotels and hire cars that really sharpened the image, the 4 of us that are going( the eldest is staying here) are looking forward to the move although the 15 year old is a bit quiet on it, this may have something to do with his first serious girlfriend (offer to fly her out for xmas is on the table). I am under no illusion that it will be hard graft for the foreseeable future but if something is worth doing then "Do it or Do'nt there is no Try" ( I think either Mr Miagyi or Yoda said something similar) anyway to finish with a bit of a cliche' my thoughts on the move are "if you want a guarantee buy a toaster"

I'll be the first to say good luck with the impending move and all the chaos that brings. Take lots of deep breaths, drink plenty of Gin and just "smile and wave" your way through it all!

Good luck with it all!
I found the first de-cluttering quite refreshing. But selling the vehicles to which we had a ridiculous emotional attachment was a wrench, as was selling furniture we decided not to ship, and then came the second de-clutter because there would still be too much to ship. Plus selling the house. All within about three months because after months of delay the Canadian company suddenly wanted my partner to start asap. So I had to finish it all by myself. When I finally got here, exhausted and back aching, I collapsed (not literally).
But it was worth it in the end. I will never accumulate 'stuff' again.

Absolutely the right attitude - a lot of people seem to come over expecting everything to be perfect and all their problems to just disappear the minute they step from the plane. It is hard work. Living in Canada is, I think harder work than living in the UK - you can't leave your garbage outside because some critter will spread it everywhere, you have to shovel to extract your car to go to work in the morning and on truly horrible days again to get it back in the driveway at night. In the summer (at least in our area) it is very humid and sticky hot - plus the mosquitoes. And for the first few months you don't know anybody, and everything seems to be a battle - finding best places to shop, sorting out bank accounts, cars, place to live - the list is endless.
Having said that I have loved living in Canada from day one (although if I try to analyse it I can never work out why I like it so much!). Don't expect it to be the answer to all your problems, accept it for what it is and don't try to reproduce your life in the UK, keep a sense of humour and you will be fine. Congratulations and good luck.